ANIMAL SHELTER CONCERN – Some residents who are associated with the Hudson County Animal League are looking to find out what happened to the proposed shelter and the donated funds that were dedicated toward building it. The city had proposed a site on Fifth Street for the shelter, but so far nothing has happened with it.

Continuing an investigation that began in September, the FBI returned to City Hall on Oct. 15 seeking additional records apparently focused on economic development.

Although rumors said that FBI agents had rolled out boxes of material from the office of Terrence Malloy, who oversees a number of city programs, more official sources said an FBI came to city hall to pick up between six and 10 files that had been previously requested.

City officials said they are cooperating fully with the investigation that started when agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation presented city officials with a subpoena related to a specific employee of the city and his work station recently.

The last records request was apparently a continuation of the investigation and concerns the same city employee, who has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

Under Civil Service and other regulations, the city cannot withhold pay unless there is a conviction of a crime.

The federal investigation supposedly concerned alleged criminal activities that are unrelated to city operations, and in a previous press release Mayor Mark Smith said, “We are cooperating fully with their investigation.”

Games for prisoners?

The Hudson County Freeholders, at their Oct. 11 meeting, voted to approve requests for games that prisoners at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny have selected, using their own money to pay for them.

The games, which include Monopoly and chess, were purchased from Levy’s Game Store in West New York under a state contract.

Freeholder Jeff Dublin said the games help keep the morale in the jail stable, although Freeholder Jose Munzo, who represents West New York, questioned whether there were cheaper alternatives for the purchase. But Freeholder Bill O’Dea said the games are being purchased under state contracts, which pre-bids such projects to allow for the lowest prices possible.